1950s Mid Century Desk
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Leather, Glass, Oak
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
Metal
Vintage 1950s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Vintage 1950s Unknown Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Rosewood
Mid-20th Century Desks and Writing Tables
Formica
Vintage 1950s Czech Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories
Metal
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Oak, Teak
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Vintage 1940s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal
Vintage 1950s German Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories
Metal, Steel
Vintage 1950s German Mid-Century Modern More Desk Accessories
Metal, Steel
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Beech
Vintage 1950s Hungarian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Walnut
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Glass, Wood
Antique 19th Century French Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Oak
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Desks
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Vintage 1950s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Iron
Mid-20th Century Desks and Writing Tables
Glass, Oak
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Desk Sets
Iron
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal, Brass
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Teak
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal, Enamel
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Maple
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Glass, Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Zinc
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Chrome
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Steel
Vintage 1950s English Desks
Mahogany, Satinwood
Mid-20th Century Italian Scandinavian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Vintage 1950s Italian Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Laminate, Walnut
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Glass, Walnut
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Teak
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Rattan
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desk Sets
Cut Glass
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks
Ash, Walnut
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Teak
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Beech, Mahogany
Vintage 1950s Argentine Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Glass, Mahogany
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
Vintage 1960s Italian Desks
Wood
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Birch
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Brass
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1950s Mid Century Desk For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a 1950s Mid Century Desk?
A Close Look at Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.
ORIGINS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
- Emerged during the mid-20th century
- Informed by European modernism, Bauhaus, International style, Scandinavian modernism and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture
- A heyday of innovation in postwar America
- Experimentation with new ideas, new materials and new forms flourished in Scandinavia, Italy, the former Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe
CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
- Simplicity, organic forms, clean lines
- A blend of neutral and bold Pop art colors
- Use of natural and man-made materials — alluring woods such as teak, rosewood and oak; steel, fiberglass and molded plywood
- Light-filled spaces with colorful upholstery
- Glass walls and an emphasis on the outdoors
- Promotion of functionality
MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
- Charles and Ray Eames
- Eero Saarinen
- Milo Baughman
- Florence Knoll
- Harry Bertoia
- Isamu Noguchi
- George Nelson
- Danish modernists Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen, whose emphasis on natural materials and craftsmanship influenced American designers and vice versa
ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS
- Eames lounge chair
- Nelson daybed
- Florence Knoll sofa
- Egg chair
- Womb chair
- Noguchi coffee table
- Barcelona chair
VINTAGE MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
The mid-century modern era saw leagues of postwar American architects and designers animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist International-style architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the 1930s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.
Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair, respectively.
Architect, writer and designer George Nelson created with his team shades for the Bubble lamp using a new translucent polymer skin and, as design director at Herman Miller, recruited the Eameses, Alexander Girard and others for projects at the legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer.
Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were repurposed too: The Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs using surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests. The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by legendary manufacturer Knoll, a chief influencer in the rise of modern design in the United States, thanks to the work of Florence Knoll, the pioneering architect and designer who made the firm a leader in its field. The seating that Knoll created for office spaces — as well as pieces designed by Florence initially for commercial clients — soon became desirable for the home.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century furniture designers caught the spirit.
Classically oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb, who designed holistic groups of sleek, blond wood furniture, and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in minimalist teak dining tables and lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
Read More

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Jochum Rodgers Has Long Brought the Best of 20th-Century Design to Berlin and Beyond
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A Guide to Herman Miller’s Most Iconic Furniture
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Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Chair Shook Modernism and Charmed Hollywood
The enduring appeal of the Barcelona chair is in the details.

Smilow Design Makes Marvels of the Mid-Century New Again
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Eileen Gray’s Deco Designs Launched Modernism. That Was Just the Beginning
Decades after her death, appreciation for the legendary designer and architect's work continues to flourish.

Harvey Probber Was the Godfather of Modern Modular Seating
The forward-thinking designer is finally getting his due.